Church collection envelope and method of making the same



May 7, 1935. w. E. SWIFT, JR.

. CHURCH COLLECTION ENVELOPE AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Oct. 21, 1952 I III I Patented May 7, 1935 UNITED STATES CHURCH COLLECTION EN VELOPE AND METHOIIOF MAKING THE SADIE Willard Everett Swift, Jr., Worcester, Mass assignor to United States Envelope Company,

Springfield, Mass a corporation of Maine Application October 21, 1932, Serial No. 638,928

7 Claims.

The present invention relates to envelopes of the multi-pocket type, which are used, for example, for church collection purposes.

In such envelopes, each pocket has designated thereon the particular'church activity or fund which is destined to receive the contribution placed in said pocket,thus enabling a contributor to make such disposition or division of his offering as he sees fit, before sealing the-'closure flap or flaps of the several pockets.

The use of such envelopes requires. the expenditure of much time and labor by the church \treasurer, or other .custodian of. the collected funds, in keeping separate, for counting or total-. ling purposes at least, the contributions directed to one designated church activity from those directed to another designated church activity. Following-division of each envelope, so that all 'the pockets of a given designation can be collected or assembled separately fromthose of theother designation. the handler of these envelopes is still confronted with the task of opening and.

tearing of! the pocket edges for this purpose might mutilate or destroy any offerings in the form of paper moneyor checks, it has heretofore been necessary to employ for the emptying of each individual pocket, the usual time-consuming expedients, such as cutters, or other opening devices, that are required to effect the complete -opening of any sealed inclosure.

The present invention in a large measure overcomes these difliculties by the equipment of each individual pocket with a rip string or cord, thus allowing a number of such pockets to be opened and emptied at a single operation. By the novel method hereinafter described of incorporating such rip strings in the multi-pocket envelope structure, the latter, without detriment to its ability to be separated or divided into its component pockets or compartments, can still be readily and cheaply manufactured. Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following detailed description thereof, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of the blank for-the multipocket envelope of my invention, showing the mode of application of the rip string.

Fig. 2 is a rear view of the completed envelope, with its pockets closed and sealed.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Like reference characters refer to' like parts in the difierent figures.-

The blank shown in Fig. 1 is of the general form usually employed for church-collection envelopes,

the same providing a rectangular bodyportion I said flaps 3 and 4 respectively, thereby to form the envelopes back wall. The back flap,2 also provides the usual central band 8 of glue, for adhesion to the front wall I, thus to provide the envelope with two pockets or compartments that. are open at the top along the 'line of fold 9 of the closure flap 5, the latter having gummed areas Ill and II, adapted to be moistened and stuck down against the back wall 2, for the sealing of ,the individual pockets.

In the manufacture of my envelope, thebands of adhesive 6, l and8, instead of terminating as usual at or just short of the line of fold between body portion I and back flap 2, are carried across said line, as shown at 6, l, and 8. Before the fiat blank thus gummed is folded in the usual manner at l3, l4 and 15, to complete the envelope, a single length of string 12 is laid across the gummed portions 8", 'l' and 8', being held against undue displacement by the sticky character of, said gummed areas. The ends of said string l2, as shown in Fig.1, project appreciably beyond the end limits of rectangular body portion I, so that upon the usual folding operation that completes the back wall of the envelope, by overlapping the flap 2 on the in-folded end flaps 3 and 4, the string I2/becomes permanently incorporated in the two-pocket envelope structure thus formed; when the gluedries at 6', l", and 8, the string 12' becomes firmly attached to the bottom fold l5 of the envelope material, so as'to effectually resist any longitudinal pull applied .to either end of said string where it projects beyond the outer lower corners of the two envelope pockets I6 and I1.

The manufacture of the envelope is completed by making a cut or notch I 8, Fig. 2, in the. central portion of the bottom fold l5; this severe the string 12 in the zone of adhesive attachment that separates the two compartments, thus providing for the compartment I6- its own independent rip string Hat, and for the compartment l1 its own independent rip string l2b, as shown clearly in Fig. 2. The notching or cutting shown at It can be effected in any suitable manner; if desired, it can be performed simultaneously with the usual operation of perforating or weakening the enve-' lope material along the line- 20, Fig. 2, this being done to facilitate the tearing apart of the two sealed compartments or pockets l6 and I1, preparatory to the opening and emptying of the same. A

In the use of the duplex church-collection envelope here shown, the contributor before closing and sealing the flap 5 places in each pocket of the envelope the amount of money which he.

wishes to give to the particular church activity or fund designated on the face or front of said pocket; thereafter, when the envelopes of all the contributors have-been collected, it devolves upon I all facing the same way and with their rip strings all disposed along, the same edge of the stack or pack; by this arrangement, all the pockets I6, l6 are lined up with each other, and all the pockets l1, I! are lined up with each other. With one hand firmly grasping such a stack at the lined up pockets "5, I6, all the projectingjends of the several strings 12b can be seized by the fingers of the other hand and so pulled as to tear or rip open all of the pockets [1, for the simultaneous emptying of the contents of said pockets. Then, shifting the grip of the stack to the other emptied pockets H, H, all of the strings l2a can be seized for the opening simultaneously of all of the pockets l6,thusobtaining by one opening operation. in each case the emptying of a multiplicity of pockets, and at the same time keeping segregated the emptied out contents of the two sets of differently designated pockets. Or, if desired, before any of the rip strings arepulled, the so-stacked envelopes can be divided or torn apart in multiple on their registering lines 20, 20, thus to separate all the pockets [6, Hi from all the pockets l1, l1. Then, a single pull on the several strings I2a will empty allof the pockets [6. l6, and a single pull on all of the strings l2b will empty all of the pocketsl1, I1.

I claim,

1 A multi-pocket envelope for church collections and the like, having a rip string contained within and projecting beyond the two ends of one of the envelopes marginal folds which is common to its several pockets, said string being severed at a point between adjacent pockets.

2. An envelope for church collections and the like, having front and back walls joined adhesively intermediate their ends to partition the enclosure into a plurality of pockets, and a rip stringcontained in a fold common to all the pockets between said wallsand held in place by the said adhesive partition, said string being severed at a point in alinement with said adhesive partition.

3. A multi-pocket envelope. of the class described, in which each pocket, along a marginal edge of the envelope common to all pockets, is equipped with an independent rip string with one end of each string projecting beyond a corner of the envelope.

4. A multi-pocket envelope of the class described providing a rip string for each pocket, each of said strings being, held in place by reception of same in adhesive connecting the front and back walls of the envelope and providing a partition between adjacent pockets.

5. A multi-pocket envelope of the class described providing, *for each pocket, an inde pendent rip string, all of said strings being in alined relation, with an end of each string projecti'ng through and beyond a corner of its associated pocket, and adhesive connections between the walls of each pocket which serve to position and hold each string at a plurality of points in its length.

6. In the manufacture of envelopes whose front and back walls are joined adhesively intermediateJ their ends to provide a plurality of pockets, the

improvement which consists in incorporating a string in the fold between said walls, and then, upon formation of the multi-pocket structure, severing said string in the zone of adhesive con-' nection of said walls, thereby providing each 'pocket with an independent string for use in ripping open same.

7 In the manufacture of envelopes, each divided into two compartments by an intermediate adhesive comiection between the front and back 

